Monday, June 27. 2011

Amongst the wonderful collection of work currently on show at the Royal College of Art, in the corner on the first floor sits an installation/object by Markus Kayser called Solar Sinter. An MA Design Products student project, Solar Sinter is probably one of the most inspiring projects this year, aiming to raise questions about the future of manufacturing and triggers dreams of the full utilisation of the production potential of the world’s most efficient energy resource - the sun.

In a world increasingly concerned with questions of energy production and raw material shortages, this project explores the potential of desert manufacturing, where energy and material occur in abundance. In this experiment sunlight and sand are used as raw energy and material to produce glass objects using a 3D printing process, that combines natural energy and material with high-tech production technology.

In August 2010 Markus Kayser took his first solar machine – the Sun-Cutter (see video below) – to the Egyptian desert in a suitcase. This was a solar-powered, semi-automated low-tech laser cutter, that used the power of the sun to drive it and directly harnessed its rays through a glass ball lens to ‘laser’ cut 2D components using a cam-guided system. In the deserts of the world two elements dominate – sun and sand. The sun offers the energy and sand an unlimited supply of silica in the form of quartz. When silicia sand is heated to melting point, once cooled solidifies as glass. This process of converting a powdery substance via a heating process into a solid form is known as sintering and has in recent years become a central process in design prototyping known as 3D printing or SLS (selective laser sintering). By using the sun’s rays instead of a laser and sand instead of resins used in modern 3D printers, Markus had the basis of an entirely new solar-powered machine and production process for making glass objects that taps into the abundant supplies of sun and sand to be found in the deserts of the world.

The Solar-Sinter was completed in mid-May and later that month Markus took this experimental machine to the Sahara desert near Siwa, Egypt, for a two week testing period. The machine and the results shown here represent the initial significant steps towards what Markus envisages as a new solar-powered production tool of great potential.

The Solar-Sinster uses ReplicatorG software, an open source 3D printing program. For more information, see replicat.org.

After 9 days and 10 contests, Team Germany reached the highest overall scores, closely followed by Team Illinois and Team California (previously on Bustler). Dubbed “the big, black monolith,” surPLUShome is almost entirely covered with photovoltaic panels that managed to generate 19 kilowatts during one day of test runs—more than twice as much as some other Solar Decathlon contestants.

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surPLUShome, Photo: Thomas Ott

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A video tour of surPLUShome

The Solar Decathlon—a competition in which 20 teams of college and university students compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house—was hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy for three weeks this October. The contest is also an event to which the public is invited to observe the powerful combination of solar energy, energy efficiency, and the best in home design.

Here’s some more info from TU Darmstadt’s Team Germany about surPLUShome:

The Solar Decathlon design of the Darmstadt University of Technology is aimed to demonstrate innovative sustainable design and to make it an object of discussion. Our architectural vision offers an alternate lifestyle which introduces the concept of energy efficiency and sustainability as a substantial element of everyday life.

Single room concept
The interior concept consisting of a single room provides maximum space and flexibility. For different atmospheres and grades of privacy the east side floor (bedroom) has been lowered while an open gallery above offers additional space for cocooning and leisure.

The “multifunctional body” in the northern part of the building integrates several basic and everyday functions: kitchen, bathroom, stairs, storage space and building services. It is the center piece of our design and plays an important role in defining different atmospheres and zones.

The functions are stored away into cupboards and cavities – consequently the main room is open and flexible to provide adequate space for different activities.

Emotional Space
We defined different zones and atmospheres within our single room concept. Varying elevation changes on ground level and the gallery enables a distinction of spacious public and cozy personal room qualities. The integrative design of furnishings such as the bed which can be stored away beneath the flooring are essential to preserve the room qualities.

The choice of interior materials supports the overall idea of a light and airy feeling. Light colors on the walls contrasts to a structured wooden flooring. The functional body attains its solitaire character by the glossy acrylic glass surface.

Windows are placed to support the different functions and ambiences of the room and allow different views from and into the in- and outside.

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Deck Plan

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Floor Plan

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Longitudinal Section View North

Within the past process of Solar Decathlon, Team Germany has always intended to design new solutions for the integration of photovoltaic cells into the building surface.

The construction of the façade is based on the traditional principle of shingles, which is commonly practiced with slate or wooden plates. We picked up this technique and transferred the principle onto a new appearance and modern materials such as glass PV-modules and acrylic glass.
We achieved a façade-system which is in accordance to all different requirements of building façades. Besides the architectural claims, it also features constructive moisture proof and technical exhaust ventilation.
Furthermore the façade offers effective shading and lighting control system all in one. In order to generate an energy gaining façade that functions in all orientations we used thin-film CIS cells which are characterized by the ability to function with diffuse solar radiation.

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North Elevation

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East Elevation

Examples of sustainable design integration
A sustainable development doesn’t only take place on the visual design level, there is more to it than what meets the eye. The challenge is to integrate functions, design and innovative technologies into one coherent concept. Some examples are:

Technical footprint
For the reduction of the energy demand, the building shell consists of highly insulated and airtight components, Vacuum Insulation Panels (VIP). A vacuum insulation panel with a breadth of 5 cm has the equivalent insulation properties of 25 cm of common insulation materials. As a result the extra 20 cm were added to our interior space. Additionally the complete building can is reduced to a surface area of approximately 2 m².

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PV Facade Elements

Ecological Footprint
Wood is a renewable resource with positive life cycle assessment. To reduce the ecological impact of the building, we decided for a wooden primary construction. As strong but light material it offers high material efficiency. Furthermore it has high heat storage properties. Therefore we increased the use of local wood (spruce for construction and ceiling, oak for flooring and frames).
To point out the positive impact of such a way of planning, we use the certification method of the German sustainable building Council (DGNB) and we will try to show a pre-certificate on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

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Team California takes the lead in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon with its entry ‘Refract House’

Evaluating three main factors—architectural elements, holistic design, and inspiration—the jurors praised Team California’s house as “beautiful in every respect.” They commented specifically on its “excellent project documentation, crystal-clear concept, and successful translation of a regional architecture to Washington DC.”

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Exterior of the Refract House

“This project broke out of the box and made exterior and interior space appear as one,” they continued, “with a varied series of sensations from the cool, shaded entry to the cantilevered balconies and a series of microclimates above and beyond” the requirements of the competition.

Thursday, April 09. 2009

Nano hybrid: A dye-sensitized solar cell (top) and a nanogenerator (bottom) sit on the same substrate in the new device.
Credit: Xudong Wang

Nanoscale generators can turn ambient mechanical energy--vibrations, fluid flow, and even biological movement--into a power source. Now researchers have combined a nanogenerator with a solar cell to create an integrated mechanical- and solar-energy-harvesting device. This hybrid generator is the first of its kind and might be used, for instance, to power airplane sensors by capturing sunlight as well as engine vibrations.

Nanogenerators typically use piezoelectric nanowires--hairlike zinc oxide structures that generate an electrical potential when mechanically stressed--to produce small amounts of power. The first such devices were made by Zhong Lin Wang, a professor at Georgia Tech and director of the institute's Center for Nanostructure Characterization. Wang hopes that nanogenerators will one day eliminate the need for batteries in implantable medical sensors, and will eventually generate enough power to charge up larger personal electronics.

Compared with solar cells, nanogenerators are still a relatively inefficient way of harvesting energy, says Wang, but "sometimes solar energy isn't available." So he collaborated with Xudong Wang, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to make the new hybrid device.

It combines two previously developed technologies in a layered silicon substrate, both of which rely on zinc oxide nanowires. The top layer consists of a thin-film solar cell embedded with dye-coated zinc oxide nanowires. The large surface area of the nanowires boosts the device's light absorption, a design based on work by Peidong Yang, a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. The bottom layer contains Wang's nanogenerator. On the underside of the silicon is a jagged array of polymer-coated zinc oxide nanowires in a toothlike arrangement. When the device is exposed to vibrations, these "teeth" scrape against an underlying array of vertically aligned zinc oxide nanowires, creating an electrical potential.

The solar cell and the nanogenerator are electrically connected by the silicon substrate itself, which acts as both the anode of the solar cell and the cathode of the nanogenerator. It is possible to string together large groups of solar cells and nanogenerators, but having them integrated in a single system takes up less space and is therefore energy efficient. The prototype device can generate 0.6 volts of solar power and 10 millivolts of piezoelectric power. While the prototype device had only one nanogenerator, Wang expects to increase the power output by creating devices with multiple layers of nanogenerators. He says that a likely first application of these devices might be in sensor-laden military aircraft. The U.S. Air Force recently issued a call for research funding proposals related to hybrid energy-scavenging devices.

Charles Lieber, a professor of chemistry at Harvard University, says that Wang's device is "creative" and is, to his knowledge, the first hybrid nanoscale device capable of harvesting two types of energy. "That is particularly important, given that one is light active, while the other can work in the dark," says Lieber. He expects Wang's work to inspire other researchers to focus on hybrid nanogenerator devices, as well as on devices that combine nanogenerators with "complementary nano-enabled power storage."

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